Search for new president begins

The Board of Trustees is only worried about a smooth transition. They have utter confidence that they will find a suitable candidate to succeed Don McNemar. Utter confidence that this candidate will please not only Guilford staff and students, but also the community at large. The only thing the Board seems to be worried about is whether or not the candidate will be found and ready before classes begin in August. “We’ve met with a consultant who walked the Board through the search process,” said Ellen Hamrick, an alum who is heading the search committee. “He said this type of search takes about six to seven months, usually. We might be able to do it in four or five.” “Even if this did roll out in five, six, seven months, that is not a lot of time,” said Ty Buckner, Director of College Relations. “We were lucky that Don [McNemar] let us know when he did.” In order to be as efficient as possible with the time they have, the Board has assembled three committees to handle the selection process. The Consultant Selection Committee, chaired by Alan Hunt, will find an appropriate consulting firm to assist with the search process. Once a consultant is found, the Leadership Committee, chaired by Martha Summerville, will craft a leadership statement. This will identify what the needs of the college are and what qualities the college is looking for. ”We want someone with leadership experience not just in education, but also with profit and non-profit leadership experience,” said Bruce Stewart, the Board of Trustees chair. “We’re looking beyond the traditional model of a college president. We don’t want a generic leadership statement. You can use a consultant firm, you can use a machine. But Guilford wants a statement crafted to Guilford.” To meet this goal, the rough draft of the Leadership Statement will be circulated through the community for critique. The final draft will then be available to the public once more, for approval. After the Statement is approved, the Leadership Committee will draw up the contract for Guilford’s eighth president. The Leadership Committee will also be responsible for evaluating the new president each year. Once the Leadership committee constructs a contract, the Search Committee will take over. Chaired by Hamrick, the committee will also include Hunt, Joe Bryan, Jr., M.L. Carr, and Howard Haworth, the previous Board chair. It will also include one main campus student, one CCE student, one member of the Board of Visitors, one community leader, three faculty representatives, and one staff representative. This will bring the committee’s size to 13 members. ”Lucky 13,” said Stewart, who is not on any of the selection committees. ”As Board chair, I elected not to be involved in this decision, to keep it impartial,” he said. Stewart was on the Board of Trustees when McNemar was selected, but was not involved in the selection then, either. While the Board is preparing to find his replacement, they have not forgotten about McNemar quite yet. “Don [McNemar] called me, in Washington, two or three weeks ago,” said Stewart. “I think he felt that this was a good time to stand aside. He felt that the things he had come to do, construction of new buildings on campus, turn enrollment around, oversee a new, younger administration, he had accomplished. ”It was a good thing that he gave us such long notice. He wants a smooth transition. “The man wants what is best for Guilford.”